


It Started With A Stray

by Calliecature



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, High School AU, Knife Mention, a budding radiohusk, alastor has a squish, blood mention, husk has a hard knock life, platonic crush, plush, the beginning of a friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:54:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25953256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calliecature/pseuds/Calliecature
Summary: Summary: Inspired by all the high school theater club AUs for Hazbin Hotel, I present Husk in the typical manga trope of the delinquent with a heart of gold as shown by his care for street cats. Alastor is pleasantly amused by this new gem of knowledge about their theater club's resident tough guy.
Relationships: Alastor & Husk (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor/Husk (Hazbin Hotel)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 88





	It Started With A Stray

There was something beautiful about the rain. The smell. The sounds. The way it cleans off blood trails…

Alastor didn’t even bother to hum as he walked home alone from school. Sound was his constant need and the rain pitter-pattering provided the most of it around him. 

It was almost dinner time. He had just been from his latest… trek but his Maman knew he would be a little late. Because he was out with _friends._

The shadows trailing behind him chittered in response.

He adjusted his glasses as he looked down on his shoes that had been splattered with mud. _Ah, can’t be helped._ He would need to polish them again when he would get home. What would people think of his Maman, a single mother, if they would see her son less than perfect? 

The perpetual curve of his mouth slightly flattened into a grimace at the thought of them blaming the lack of a father. Utter bushwa.

He quickly turned his thoughts around. School. Their theatre club. He was a junior who turned down being the head producer in favor of giving it to Charlie, the principal’s sophomore daughter. Being the shadow producer offered Alastor more freedom to move around. 

There were new people that have joined. Anthony -or his preferred name, Angel Dust- who joined the dance group. Crymini, a freshman. And a senior. Husk. 

An odd fellow.

Husk pretty much kept to himself and Alastor would have never noticed him if he hadn’t turned around during production hours and accidentally bumped against a broad chest.

Alastor grimaced at the memory. He hated unexpectedly being in contact with someone else.

Alastor had stepped back to see a face of a six-foot scowling sourpuss and the first thing that came out of his mouth was:

“Tell me, my good friend. Do babies cry when they see you?”

In which Niffty, one of the few people in his inner circle and the costume designer, piped up. “Actually, Husk is our best babysit-” The guy named Husk had cut Niffty off with a hand over her mouth before going on his way. 

“What a gabber,” Alastor had commented. 

Husk was tall but constantly slouches, with eyes that looked like he rarely got enough sleep. But there was a world-weariness around him which Alastor pretty much confirmed when he had found out why Husk chose being part of the stage light crew as an extracurricular activity. In their most recent production month, stage lights weren’t needed that much and Husk would use those supposed school hours to sleep in the back room. Some would call him lazy. 

Sleeping, relaxing or simply lounging in piles was their school’s theater club culture. Alastor never joined one because of his aversion to being touched. He had never seen anyone join Husk from where he would be sleeping. Angel Dust had tried but perhaps he shouldn’t have made that sex joke because Husk literally growled with his eyes still closed when Angel tried to approach. Alastor could imagine Niffty doing it since they look like they were close but Niffty was too hyper to just sit around.

The fact that Husk had a scary man-face, in Alastor’s opinion, might have contributed too. And with what Angel Dust described as having “nice forearms”. (It wasn’t the only thing Angel described as nice but Alastor would rather erase the other mentioned complimented anatomies.) Husk had a rep of being intimidating. He didn’t often get involved in fights but when he did… there was no hesitation. 

Most of the time, Husk barely mingled with the rest of them, often having more part-time jobs than anyone that Alastor knew of. In the school corridors, Alastor would often see Husk with an energy drink in hand. He’d probably bust out his kidneys before he would graduate.

He must’ve looked so sturdy as a baby that life assumed he could take a beating of any kind.

Alastor had always felt like an old soul with his fixation with the 20s era. But Husk gave an impression of an old soul from growing up too fast to really connect with people their age.

He shook his head, chastising himself for thinking too much about one person. 

Husk was fascinating in his own way. Alastor wouldn’t say no to getting to know him better. There was just never the right time. But mentioning it to anyone would’ve made them think he was _-urgh-_ romantically interested. 

He was about to turn a corner when he heard it. A mewl. A sharp kitten cry. Then a voice.

“Shut it, you’re shivering.”

Alastor tilted his head. Raindrops continued to percuss a pattern around him. _What do we have here?_

He turned around the corner to find a guy hunched under the shade of a bus stop with a muddy kitten wrapped in a jacket like a burrito.

The guy was rubbing the hems of his jacket around the kitten to dry its muddy fur. He looked up, sensing someone, and that’s when Alastor saw Husk’s amber eyes staring back. 

Alastor grinned, loving the unexpected sight before him. Who knew Mr. Scary Man-Face is a doting stray lover? Husk must’ve been coming home from one of his part-times because Alastor could see a company vest peeking out of his bag. 

Husk gave him a deadly glare -a silent threat to gut Alastor and tuck the kitten in his innards for warmth if Alastor would dare utter a word.

Or maybe Alastor was just projecting.

Alastor went over and shared his umbrella as a better shield from the rain. He looked closer at the kitten before wrinkling his nose. 

It was ugly. 

Swollen eyes and too large ears. The kitten looked like the lord got stingy with the colors upon making it so it was mostly dirty white with a couple of orange and black patches on its head and tail. It continued to squeak meows that curiously echoed in the rain. 

“I think I’m seeing a family resemblance,” Alastor casually said. 

There was a snort of laughter that ended as quickly as it had begun. Husk tucked the jacket around the kitten securely. If he was cold from the rain, he didn’t show it.

“Aren’t you getting your jacket filthy?”

Husk simply grunted. “It’s fine. I’ll wash it when I get home.” His large thumbs gently run over its oversized ears. “Some moron dumped her here. No mother would leave it on a busy road like this.” 

“Her?”

“Female cats often have three colors.”

“Ah.”

“Fucker must’ve an un-neutered pet. It’s a common case,” Husk sighed before sitting down into a crouch.

“Well then. I would gladly neuter the man for you. Balls don’t bleed much when you cut them off.”

Husk stared at him before barking out a laugh. Alastor felt his mouth lift up by the corners in its own accord.

“Are you going to keep it?” Alastor asked, sitting down into a crouch as well. 

“Fuck no. The apartment ain’t allowing pets.”

Alastor shrugged, slightly spinning his held umbrella. “Maman doesn’t like pets either.” Furniture getting soiled and scratched and all of that.

Husk only grunted. “The most I can do is warm it.” He regarded him with a side stare. “You don’t have to stay around, y’know.”

“But you’re entertaining me,” Alastor replied with a bright-eyed smile. It was met with a withering gaze. 

“Is that your only motivation in life?” 

Alastor gave him a squinted grin, feeling the weight of the hidden knife in his person. “Maybe.”

Husk looked at him suspiciously before scoffing. “There’s a convenience store up ahead. If you’re gonna hang around, can you buy a hotdog?” he asked, fishing in his pockets for money. “I can’t go inside because,” he gestured at the kitten that had decided to nose around his jacket for a teat. 

Alastor decided to humor for the moment. When he got back, Husk bit on the meat only, chewed it, before spitting it into his palm and holding it into the kitten’s nose.

“You, my friend, are disgusting,” Alastor chipperly commented, watching the kitten sniff it. “I thought only mama birds regurgitate food for their young.”

Husk only made a face at him before turning his attention back to the kitten. “She looks barely a month old, I doubt the mother had introduced her to meat,” he said. 

Finally, the kitten began to eat, still meowing while chewing. Its paws curiously kneaded the food as if it was a cat’s breast. 

“Why won’t she quiet down?” Alastor asked when the kitten ignored the remaining disgusting meat and began squeaking in her burrito jacket again.

Husk smirked. “Funny, I’ve been asking the same thing about you.” His comment was met with a slap on his arm. 

Husk chuckled before he looked down on the kitten again. It had settled comfortably in the jacket burrito, still meowing. His face grew pensive. “It’s going to be a long time before she would stop looking for her mother,” he quietly said.

Alastor paused. 

Husk got up. “I’ll need to relocate her. It’s getting late.”

Alastor shared his umbrella and they found bushes where she could hide and be away from the heavy traffic. Husk set down the remaining meat near her. 

“I’ll be checking in on her tomorrow,” Husk had said as though Alastor was the one concerned about the kitten’s wellbeing. Alastor simply smirked, amused at his tough pretense.

“Very well.”

* * *

In the end, someone was willing to adopt the kitten. Niffty had said they adopted the kitten because they were carrying a torch for Husk. Husk had retorted that if that was ever true, they should’ve picked someone else because Charlie’s teeth were brighter than his future. 

As far as Alastor was concerned, to get close to a crush was a preposterous reason to adopt a pet. Nonetheless, all was well that ended well.

A couple of days later, Alastor arrived at the theater club. He found Husk fixing the wiring of some of the unattached stage lights in one of the tables. Making up his mind, Alastor walked past the chill piles and arranged a bench to languidly lean backwards across Husk’s back. 

There was a grunt and Alastor could practically see Husk bracing his elbows against the table at the sudden weight. He grinned when Husk turned to look over his shoulder.

“Chill pile,” Alastor said in a sing-song voice.

Husk went back to slouch at whatever he was fiddling with the screwdriver. “You never joined any chill piles,” he gruffly muttered.

Alastor settled more comfortably against Husk’s back. “Neither do you, Husker.”

**Author's Note:**

> As far as Alastor was concerned, the adopter can keep the kitten. He, however, is keeping Husker. As his friend and go-to chill pile. 
> 
> This is slightly inspired by a guy that I had an interest before in school who's scary, tough and has a lot of part time jobs than any of us. Also inspired by my attempts to help stray kittens that I couldn't take home to my house.


End file.
